This language arts course incorporates and integrates reading (strategies, vocabulary development, comprehension, and appreciation), writing (mechanics, grammar, spelling, and process writing), and communicating (written and oral). The reading portion focuses on the improvement of skills and strategies, comprehension and vocabulary, reading for a variety of purposes and from a variety of materials, and setting self-improvement reading goals. The literature part of the curriculum encourages reading in a wide range of genres including biography, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, multi-cultural and world literature, and library and trade books of interest. The more experience a student has with reading, the greater the students background knowledge becomes. This greater knowledge base creates a positive effect on the students ability to comprehend a wide range of materials.